The editorial published in the latest issue of Conservation Biology, should be of interest to members of this list. It advocates for a (much needed) paradigm shift in ecological/conservation research, much like the culture changes that medical and molecular biology research have already undergone, to ensure the sharing of raw data to facilitate systematic reviews for the sake of promoting evidence-based. In order to make this paradigm shift a reality, the platform and database infrastructure for data sharing needs to be created, and the buy-in from journals and academic institutions needs to be secured. Could the Conservation Commons lead the way in this?
Given that the paper makes and excellent argument for data sharing, it’s ironic that it’s published in a closed-access journal!!

Save the Whales? Save the Rainforest? Save the Data!

Andrew S. Pullin* and Nick Salafsky†

*Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation, School of the Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom, email a.s.pullin@bangor.ac.uk †Foundations of Success, 4109 Maryland Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20816, U.S.A.

Copyright ©2010, Society for Conservation Biology

link: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123584566/abstract